Wild Onion – Edible Wild Plants

Wild onion is one of the easiest foraging plants to identify and harvest. The wild onion is edible in its entirety from bulb to flower petal. By cooking the onions complex carbohydrates apart an additional 9X calories can be made available, in fact, any plant that smells like an onion or a garlic and LOOKS like an onion or a garlic is edible. If you do not smell a garlic or an onion odor beware you might have a similar-looking toxic plant.

Beware of Crows Poison, it is a look-alike plant that can cause pain and discomfort. Only wild onion smells like onion. If it smells like onion it is safe to eat, if it just smells like grass/chemicals it is toxic Crows Poison.

Identifying wild onions seems fool-proof. If you find a wild onion and you can smell the characteristic onion smell, then you’re good to start chomping down. If you accidentally chomp down before smelling it, you should taste a difference and know something is not right and spit it out.

Onions, garlic, leeks, and shallots, including their wild forms, are all part of the Allium or onion genus. They are very nutritious and can help keep you safe from cancers and heart disease. The whole plant is edible. This video shows us how to identify and pick wild onions that can be used as edible food or add flavor and nutrients to our foods.

(Founder) Michael is an avid hunter that enjoys sharing his experience to help others learn about hunting. He lives and breathes hunting and the outdoor lifestyle and wants to educate and entertain hunting enthusiasts all over the world!

Save yourself some money and collect your own worms for bait this summer.

There is no telling how much money I have spent buying worms and other live baits over the years. Which is really silly when you think about it because the ground is literally filled with them.

On average, a healthy acre of soil has of 50,000 worms in it. You could take the old-fashioned route by grabbing a shovel and digging them straight out, but there are some much simpler ways to collect worms.

There are actually quite a few ways to draw them out and they are pretty effective. I have tried a few of these myself with great results. Here are five ways to lure worms out to collect for bait.

1. Mustard Power

Next time you are at the grocery store pick yourself up a box of dry mustard. Fill up a watering can with water and add the mustard. Find a few cool areas like under bushes in your flower bed and sprinkle it over the area.

The mustard is very irritating to worms and will have them headed straight for the surface to get away. Just have your bucket handy to collect them as they pop up.

2. Worm Whispering

Worm grunting is an age-old traditional way to gather earthworms. There are even competitions held in the U.S. and U.K. for people who love to worm grunt. The person with the most worms at the end of a set time limit wins.

The concept is to drive a wooden stake into the ground and then drag a steel “rooping iron” across the top of the stake to make it vibrate. The theory is this makes the worms think a mole is coming for them so they come to the surface to escape.

Sounds crazy, I know, but it really does work. Check out this video of Mike Rowe from “Dirty Jobs” giving it a shot.

3. Shock’em Out

This is a very unorthodox way to collect worms, but it is very effective. You will need metal rods, at least a six-volt battery, and two pieces of wire.

Remember, you are dealing with electricity here so be careful where you are standing and what you touch.

Start by driving your rods into the ground and attaching one of the wires to each. Hook the other ends up to the battery and wait for worms to start popping up.

This works well but can harm the worms and cause them to die if exposed to electricity for too long.

4. Try to Clean Them

Apparently, worms like to stay dirty so trying to clean them with soap upsets them into coming out of the ground.

Get yourself a bucket of water and add some mild dish soap to it. Mix it around and pour it over a given area.

This works much like the mustard mixture from above. Apparently, the soap irritates them and makes the soil hard to breath in so they burst forth to the surface to be hauled off by you.

5. Make it Rain

This is probably the simplest way out of all of them to collect worms. Just grab your hose and start wetting down an area while watching for worms to come up. It’s just that simple and can be done sitting in a lawn chair with a cool drink in your hand.

This is a great activity to get your kids outside. They will have a blast picking up worms while you bait them out of the ground.

Store the worms you capture in containers with lids that have holes poked in them for the worms to breath. Fill the container with loose, moist soil and drop them in one by one to allow them a chance to bury themselves before the next is added.

Don’t forget to sprinkle some coffee grounds in to give them something to munch on if you don’t plan to use them right away.

Worms can be stored in the refrigerator for short periods of time, but the cold will kill them. It is best to store them in a dark, cool area out of direct sunlight.

(Founder) Michael is an avid hunter that enjoys sharing his experience to help others learn about hunting. He lives and breathes hunting and the outdoor lifestyle and wants to educate and entertain hunting enthusiasts all over the world!

Gardening Tips

There are tons of gardening tricks and tips that make gardening lots of fun. You’d be surprised at how a few simple household ingredients can transform your garden. The best part? All of these gardening tips use natural ingredients, free of pesticides and other toxic chemicals. Surely, these tips will make your garden better. Check out the list below to get started.

Egg Shell Fertilizer

Egg shells are great natural fertilizers that give plants plenty of nutrients. They are rich in calcium, which your plants can benefit a lot from. They are also a very effective deterrent for pests, like slugs and snails. The sharp edges of eggshells just make it hard for these pests to chew on your plants. It’s best to grind your eggshells into a powder to put directly in your garden to give your plants a boost.

Eggshell Starters

Get your garden started early by planting your seeds in eggshells indoors before the weather permits outdoor growth. There are several reasons why eggshells are the perfect pot for this, but the biggest is that they are cheap (free really), full of calcium to give your seedlings that extra boost, and easy to plant in the garden when ready (the shell can stay on!).

Start Seeds Indoors

For greater growing success it’s best to start your seeds indoors planted at the correct time. There are so many benefits to starting your plants from seed indoors in a controlled environment versus buying transplants to put in your garden. When buying plants from a local nursery, you will only have a couple of varieties to choose from. The great thing about seeds is that there are dozens upon dozens of different varieties to choose from. By far, seeds are way cheaper than plants. You can buy a pack of seeds for less than $2 and have over 100 seeds in the pack, as opposed to paying a few bucks per plant from the nursery. Once you learn how to raise your own plants from seed, as well as saving seed from year to year, you’ll no longer depend upon somebody else to start your garden for you. There’s definitely a learning curve when it comes to raising your plants from seed, so learning now, before you depend on your garden for survival, is a really good idea.

Epsom Salt In The Garden

Epsom salt has so many uses, including aiding in a beautiful and healthy garden. It’s rich in magnesium and sulfate which are crucial to plant life. For potted plants, mix a couple of tablespoons of the salt into your watering can once or twice a month. You can also sprinkle it in your garden’s soil to help your seeds germinate better. Tomatoes and peppers benefit the most because they both tend to have a magnesium deficiency. Add a tablespoon or so in with the soil when first planting, and then sprinkle more into the soil once mature.

Fertilize Your Plants

Anytime you are boiling your vegetables save the vegetable cooking water. The water has a lot of nutrients that your garden thrives on. Wait for the water to cool down first, and then use it to “fertilize” your garden or potted plants. This makes for a green and happy garden with water you would normally just put down the sink drain.

Use Coffee Grounds In Your Garden

Utilize those coffee grounds! They make an excellent fertilizer, compost….and so much more! It adds nutrients to your soil, makes texture and drainage better, and keeps pests from devouring your veggies. These are the fundamental benefits you can get from coffee grounds.

Line Pots With Coffee Filters

A simple solution to the mess your indoor pots make every time you water them is to place a coffee filter in the bottom of the pot. Coffee filters allow the water to still drain, but keep the dirt contained.

Homemade Weed Killer

To make this homemade weed kill mix 1 gallon of white vinegar, 1 cup of table salt and 1 tablespoon of dawn dish soap in a spray bottle. These three combined every-day household ingredients are great for getting rid of weeds. Even if you love working in the yard, chances are, pulling weeds just gets in the way of all the fun. You’ve probably already got all of these ingredients handy in the kitchen, too.

*Be careful because this solution can be harmful to grass as well, so it’s best used in sidewalk cracks, landscape borders, and other areas where grass, flowers, and other plants won’t be affected. Also, if you spray them when they are exposed to direct sunlight, it works its magic a lot faster.

Mulch To Keep Weeds Down

Weeding is a good way to visit the garden regularly but no one really enjoys weeding the garden. It must be done to ensure the weeds are not taking nutrients from your vegetables to ensure big bountiful harvests. One of the best ways to keep weeds down is mulching. Whether you use straw, hay, wood chips, grass clippings, leaves, or pine needles. Make sure you put down a nice thick layer. This helps keep away weeds, moderates temperatures, holds in moisture, limits evaporation, and reduces splash on plant leaves keeping them cleaner and reducing fungi. As a bonus mulch naturally composts in place putting humus back into the soil.

When To Water The Garden

It is best to water early in the morning, as early as possible really. If you can’t water in the morning aim to water when you arrive home in the evening, around 4-7 pm. Watering late at night invites mildew and fungus. In the hot afternoon, much of your water can be lost to wind and evaporation. Watering is especially important for newly planted material. When you water the soil surrounding the plant’s root zone you are encouraging root growth. This root growth helps the plant to establish itself in the new location. Over watering is worse than under watering. It is easier to revive a dry plant than try to dry out drowned roots.

(Founder) Michael is an avid hunter that enjoys sharing his experience to help others learn about hunting. He lives and breathes hunting and the outdoor lifestyle and wants to educate and entertain hunting enthusiasts all over the world!

Spring Turkey Hunting Tips

Spring Turkey Hunting in the rain can yield great success. Like most birds, turkeys lack a strong sense of taste and smell. They make up for this with their keen eyesight and hearing capabilities. Turkeys have eyes on the sides of their heads which allows them to see with a 300-degree field of vision without even moving its head. turkeys also have a very acute sense of hearing and will flee at the slightest unusual noise.

With their keen eyesight and acute hearing, here are some tips and tactics you can use to bag a turkey in the wet weather. If you know where to go and why to go there, turkey hunting in the rain can provide great advantages.

From my experience, a light rain has had no effect on normal turkey patterns. A heavy downpour might force them under some type of cover, but a light gentle, all-day drizzle doesn’t bother them. They appear to ignore it for the most part. Let’s take a look at a few spring turkey hunting tips you should know for hunting in the rain.

Wear Proper Hunting Clothes

A turkey has keen eyesight, it is of utmost importance to conceal yourself with your surroundings and blend in, but it is also valuable to be comfortable for those long sits. Spring weather can bring warmer weather and lots of rain throughout a normal day. Be sure to check the weather conditions and prepare to wear rain gear to stay dry and comfortable. I prefer to wear frog toggs, they are perfect for rainy days, they are very comfortable, breathable and lightweight in case the weather breaks and you need to remove them. Whatever you prefer just remember to stay dry to be comfortable and blend into your surroundings.

Calling Tactics

When you are in the field turkey hunting in the wet weather, don’t be afraid to use some volume on your turkey call. Wind will not usually spook turkeys like it does deer, but it can cause them to be extra alert and cautious of their surroundings. Turkeys have a difficult time hearing when it’s pouring down and the wind is blowing, so don’t be afraid to let loose on that call.

Remember, they are very skittish animals, so if they look your direction when you strike your call, stay still and be ready. Turkeys can see the slightest movement, even the blink of an eye.

I like to be loud and make sure that my call can be heard on a rainy or windy day. When a tom responds to your call, raise your gun and get ready – anytime you hear a gobble on a rainy or windy day, he’s sure to be close.

Hunt The Open Fields

When the rain falls, turkeys seem to flock to an open field or pasture. The sound of the rain hitting the leaves throws off the turkeys sight and hearing. They are very skittish and will run away with the slightest bit of danger. The open field provides a much better field of vision to watch for predators. When it’s wet out turkeys would rather walk in short vegetation than underbrush and taller weeds so that their tail feathers won’t drag.

Use A Turkey Decoy

Decoys are a great addition to turkey hunting whether it’s raining or not. I usually set up with at least a Jake/Hen pair to drive that gobbler to me. A turkey might not be able to hear your calling because of the wind and rain, but they will be able to see your decoy in an open field much better giving you an opportunity you otherwise would never have. I prefer to use lifelike Avian X turkey decoys to give me an advantage, however, if budget decoys are all you have here are some tips to help make those decoys look more lifelike.

Be Ready And Stay Alert

While hunting Turkeys in the rain, it’s very hard for you to hear a turkey gobble. The sound of the drops falling on leaves and the wind create difficult conditions to hear. The sound of the rain hitting the roof of your hunting blind may be just enough to put you to sleep. You should always be alert. A turkey just might pop out behind you and you would never even know it.

(Founder) Michael is an avid hunter that enjoys sharing his experience to help others learn about hunting. He lives and breathes hunting and the outdoor lifestyle and wants to educate and entertain hunting enthusiasts all over the world!

Top 3 Spring Food Plot Options

Late summer, early fall food plot plantings are attractants and do not help with antler development; planting early spring food plots will help add mass and inches to buck headbones.

With winter slowing disappearing with the arrival of spring, deer season is still many months away. However, the fact is bucks are entering one of the most critical time periods for antler and body growth.

After a grueling rut and scarce winter food source options, bucks are in critical need of high-quality nutrition to repair their bodies and begin antler growth. The longer it takes to recoup from the winter, the less time a buck will have to grow – both body and antler wise – before the arrival of fall.

This means the early spring period is extremely critical. During the spring green-up, more abundant, high-quality native food will be available. In addition to native food sources, landowners and hunters also can provide supplemental deer nutrition in terms of food plots.

Though the majority of hunters only think about food plots during the late summer early fall, food plots in the spring play a much more significant deer nutrition role than those in the fall.

So what are the top options to plant for spring food plots?

Clover
You absolutely cannot go wrong with most varieties of clover; it’s a great protein source. It’s easy to establish and is tolerant of many soil and climate conditions. Due to seed size, which is small, planting depth isn’t much of a concern with literally just seed-to-soil contact being sufficient in many cases.

Clover is a great option for year-round plots. But is especially good in early spring, whether it’s a perennial white clover coming out of dormancy, or a freshly planted food plot. For the latter, mixing a fast-growing annual clover, like Crimson Clover, with a perennial, like Ladino White Clover, will yield a plot for many springs in the future. Try planting about 5 pounds per acre of Crimson Clover and 3 pounds per acre of Ladino White Clover.

Alfalfa
A more difficult plating to establish than clover, and only in perennial varieties, alfalfa is still an amazing food plot option for the spring. Because it’s slower to establish, it’s best to plan a spring in advance. That’s not to say there won’t be anything to consume the first spring it is planted, but it will be much more establish the second spring.

In fact, to protect it during the slow growth of the first spring, typically it is planted with a cover crop like wheat, oats, or even annual clover. Alfalfa seeds should be planted at around 15 pounds per acre, with either a 25-pound-per-acre grain or 3- to 5-pound-per-acre annual clover.

Chicory
The least likely planted of the group, yet it’s one with characteristics making it very desirable, chicory is packed full of protein in the spring. Though it isn’t as marketed as many of the other food plot options, chicory has a huge advantage when spring fades into summer and temperatures rise.

With a large taproot, chicory is one of the most drought-tolerant food plot species. Though, like alfalfa, it is only available in perennial varieties and can provide great nutrition year after year.

Chicory doesn’t need as much cover-crop protection as alfalfa, but it isn’t a bad idea to mix some clover in with it during planting. Chicory is planted at between 3 to 5 pounds per acre with about 3 pounds per acre of clover.

With the next deer hunting season in mind, think about the food on your property available in spring. Not late summer when food plot crops should already be established. By planting any of the three mentioned – clover, alfalfa, chicory – deer on your hunting property will have another food source option in addition to native sources. Spring food plots are a good way to get bucks on the pathway to growing bigger antlers for fall.

(Founder) Michael is an avid hunter that enjoys sharing his experience to help others learn about hunting. He lives and breathes hunting and the outdoor lifestyle and wants to educate and entertain hunting enthusiasts all over the world!

What Size Vegetable Garden Should You Maintain

There will come a point in time when people are forced to return to basics. When it does, people will turn back to the land to grow their food. Some preppers, are stockpiling seeds to be ready for the day when we have to plant a garden for subsistence.

Over the past few years, I’ve experimented with different-sized gardens and working them by hand. What I found is that a small garden can be just as productive as a larger garden. The large garden I planted was 1/2 acre which isn’t the biggest garden but it is a lot to work for a single person by hand. It is not just weeding, but also fertilizer or composting.

Once a garden reaches a certain size, people working with hand tools can no longer maintain it. The less fertilizer you have, the fewer crops you get in return. Wouldn’t it make better sense to focus on the fertilizer, manure, compost, wood ash, etc, on a small garden so the plants can get the nutrients they need? Or would you rather spread the fertilizer thin and have low returns?

Several years ago I had a small garden that measured around 20 feet X 30 feet, and a couple of raised beds. I had more fresh vegetables than I could eat. Food was being given away to neighbors and brought to work for coworkers to have. The garden was tilled, planted, and then worked by hand for the rest of the season.

A couple of years ago I planted the half-acre garden. Just like the small 20 X 30 garden, it was tilled, planted and worked by hand. The garden became overrun by weeds and was not very productive.

The small garden required less fertilizer, work, and time than the large garden, and was just as productive as the larger garden.

This makes it evident that one person can only maintain a garden up to a certain size. As a garden increases in size, more people would be required to work it. With power equipment, such as a tiller, keeping weeds out of the garden is much easier than by hand.

When a tiller is used to de-weed the garden instead of doing it by hand, production goes up. However, my experiments were to observe how production relates to manpower.

While a prepper may have thousands of seeds, seeds are dependent upon how many people are available to maintain the garden. If you over-plant, production levels off. Under-plant and you do not get enough food. The key is to strike just the right balance for your situation.

(Founder) Michael is an avid hunter that enjoys sharing his experience to help others learn about hunting. He lives and breathes hunting and the outdoor lifestyle and wants to educate and entertain hunting enthusiasts all over the world!

3 Ways How To Remove A Fish Hook From Skin

Removing a fish hook from a person is a skill that many fishing enthusiasts have had to learn the hard way. Well, here’s a guy who jams fish hooks into his own arm, just so he can show you how to remove them.

If you have ever been accidentally caught by a razor-sharp fishing hook it can be quite the painful experience. Most fishing hooks have small barbs on the end and the purpose of these barbs is to prevent the hook from being pulled from the mouth of a fish. So if you get caught by a hook the barbs will prevent you from removing the hook as well.

So your probably asking, well how do I remove a hook from myself? This video gives you a step by step guide on accidental hook removal. This video is probably not for sensitive viewers.

Have you ever accidentally stuck a fishing hook in your skin and if so how did you remove it?

(Founder) Michael is an avid hunter that enjoys sharing his experience to help others learn about hunting. He lives and breathes hunting and the outdoor lifestyle and wants to educate and entertain hunting enthusiasts all over the world!

Coyote Calling Tips

The first rule is to hunt in good habitat where coyotes are present, after all, you will not call in any coyote if there are none in the area. You can scout the area for sign or use locator calls to determine if predators are in the general area. The next rule is to only hunt when the wind is right for the piece of property you are hunting. To fool the wily coyote and call one into shot range is quite the feat in itself but with the wind blowing your scent right at the crafty predator you don’t stand a chance. Your best bet is to set a stand with maximum concealment and great visibility with a crosswind or have the wind in your face. These are the basic set of rules every coyote hunter should follow to have a shot on the slick predator.

Now that we covered the basics let’s dive into the techniques one can use for a successful hunt based upon the season at hand. While there is no wrong call to use at any given time, really understanding coyote behavior throughout the season can maximize time spent calling in the field.

Coyote Hunting Tactics

Let’s break things down a little further by identifying four triggers: hunger, curiosity, territorial and parental. Of the four, hunger and curiosity are responsible for calling in the most coyotes. Is it because these are the easiest triggers to invoke? Or is it because the average coyote hunter is primarily using sounds that trigger these two responses? I believe it’s a little of both. Triggering territorial and parental responses can be very effective as well, but understanding certain coyote characteristics and coyote behavior is the key to being able to trigger these responses on a consistent basis throughout the entire hunting season.

Coyote Behavior

Before we can tie everything together into a practical game plan, let’s discuss coyote behavior from early fall through early spring. During the month of September and the early part of October, the coyote family group is still intact. The pups are still in the general vicinity of their spring denning site, but they are learning to hunt on their own. Food is plentiful, with insects and plants still available for consumption. Hunting pressure is minimal and coyote densities and numbers are the highest they will be all season.

In late October and into November, the family group breaks down and the pups head out on their own. During this timeframe, a good portion of the coyote population is composed of young, transient coyotes roaming the countryside looking for their own territory to establish. The food supply is minimized and easy meals such as grasshoppers are gone with the colder temperatures. The coyotes must now take to catching rodents, rabbits, and birds. Hunting pressure has significantly increased and the coyote numbers and densities are dropping.

In December through the first half of January, most coyotes have now established a territory. Winter has hit with full force, and keeping food in its belly is priority number one for a coyote. Hunting pressure is extremely high, and the coyote numbers and densities are continuing to drop.

During the last half of January and February, the remaining coyote population turns its focus to repopulating. Mating is now the priority, and the females will come into heat sometime around the first of February. Food sources are dwindling, and the coyotes must continue to hunt on a daily basis. Hunting pressure remains high, and many of the remaining coyotes have had some sort of educational experience during the previous four months.

In March and April, the coyote pairs have established a den. A territory is now the main focus. Defending remaining food sources from being eaten by other coyotes are important for the survival of the litters. The family group will spend the next six months in this location. Hunting pressure has dropped significantly, and as long as 30 percent of the coyote population survived the winter, there will be just as many coyotes again next fall.

Coyote Characteristics

By understanding coyote behavior you get a feel for what calls should work best at a given time of year and how it is affected by the changing of seasons. Prey distresses will generally trigger a hunger or curiosity response. Coyote and coyote-pup distress will generally trigger a parental or territorial response. Coyote vocalizations will generally trigger a territorial or curiosity response. Early in the season, concentrate on triggering a curiosity, hunger or parental response. Midway through the season, concentrate on triggering a hunger, territorial or parental response. During the late-season, concentrate on triggering a territorial, parental or curiosity response.

Calling Coyote On Set

Here is an example of one of my successful sets this year. It’s early October, and you’re headed out to call your favorite piece of ground for the first time this season. During the first half of the stand, play a prey-distress sound. If there’s a coyote within an earshot that is hungry or curious, you’ll get a response. If nothing responds halfway through your stand, switch categories to hopefully elicit a parental response. To do this, pick a sound from the coyote or coyote-pup distress category. Let it play for the remainder of the stand. If there was a coyote within earshot, chances are one of the three triggers you tried to invoke will produce a response.

Another example lets say It’s late January and you’re headed out to call a piece of property that you’ve already hunted several times. By now, many of the coyotes have received some sort of education and are more concerned about repopulating than eating. During the first few minutes of the stand, use your favorite coyote vocalization sound. Next, switch sounds and pick something from the coyote and coyote-pup distress category. Let that play through the halfway point of your stand and then repeat with coyote vocalizations and more coyote and coyote-pup distress. This accomplishes two things. First, you’ve played sounds from two different categories, which have the ability to invoke three of the four triggers, which are relative to the corresponding coyote behavior that time of year. Second, you’ve played sounds that the average coyote hunter hasn’t used up to this point in the season. Identify the triggers that you want to invoke and then play the correct sounds to invoke a response.

Put all of this predator behavioral information, and coyote hunting advice to work for you and you’ll put more coyotes on the ground this season. Good luck and shoot straight friends, If you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments and I will answer them to the best of my knowledge.

(Founder) Michael is an avid hunter that enjoys sharing his experience to help others learn about hunting. He lives and breathes hunting and the outdoor lifestyle and wants to educate and entertain hunting enthusiasts all over the world!

Venison Recipes

Venison and Sweet Potatoe Stew

A delicious healthy stew recipe from Amanda at Deer Recipes, that will make you come back for more and that’s ok because it’s very low-calorie. Slow-cooked bite-size pieces of venison and big chunks of sweet potato–oh my goodness! Plus, the house fills with the most heavenly aromatic smell.

Crockpot meals are my absolute favorite meals. I love being able to get dinner ready in one pot! All you have to do is turn the crockpot on, forget about and then when dinner time is near you don’t have to do anything except eat!

Then the clean up is simple, especially if you paper plate your family like I do a lot. I mean, let’s face it–I’m lazy. Did I just say “I’m lazy”– I’m not lazy, but I really hate having to clean the kitchen for an hour after dinner. A girl likes to relax!

I’m all for simple recipes and this recipe is very simple. I really love making this on a Saturday morning just before going hunting. Usually by the time I get back from the woods the stew is done and it makes the perfect hot lunch for those cold Winter days. Then I go back out for an evening hunt and come back home and eat it again.

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours

Total Time: 6 hours, 5 minutes

Yield: 10 cups

Serving Size: 1.25 cups

Calories per serving: 262

Fat per serving: 3 g

Ingredients

2 lbs venison stew meat, cut to 1 inch cubes

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups of sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 2-inch pieces

1 cup of carrots

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 onion, chopped

1 Tbsp. minced garlic

2 beef bouillon cubes, crushed

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tea. smoked paprika

14 oz. diced tomatoes

2 cups beef broth (or venison broth)

Instructions

Put the venison and flour in a crock-pot and stir, coating the venison well.

Add all of the rest of the ingredients, cover and cook on high heat for for about 5-6 hours or on low for about 7-8 hours.

Give it a taste test to see if it needs more salt.

Notes

Make sure the sweet potatoes are cut to a large size–at least 2-inch pieces. If not, they will be overcooked.

Put the venison and flour in the pot and stir well to coat the stew meat.

Prepare vegetables and seasoning.

Add the veggies and seasoning to the venison and flour.

Pour the diced tomatoes into the pot.

Add the beef broth–you can use venison broth instead if you have it 🙂

Cover and let it cook on high 5-6 hours or on low for about 7-8 hours.

Put it in a bowl and let’s eat!

Venison and Sweet Potato Stew is fabulous just as it is, but it’s also great served with long grain white rice. If you have any leftovers, it makes a nice lunch the next day and it’s great home-canned. It looks beautiful in a jar!

For nutritional facts or to make this meal more diet friendly visit deer recipes and be sure to check out more great venison recipes.

We hope you enjoy this recipe and be sure to let us know what you think of the recipe in the comments below.

(Founder) Michael is an avid hunter that enjoys sharing his experience to help others learn about hunting. He lives and breathes hunting and the outdoor lifestyle and wants to educate and entertain hunting enthusiasts all over the world!

Fishing Hacks – Fishing Tips

A life hack is a quick solution to a common problem. Over the years fishing, I have learned a good number of “fishing hacks” to make my fishing trips much easier on me. Some of these are my own and others I have learned from good friends while out on the water.

Eliminate Line Twist

When you’ve spooled fresh new line on to your reel, it can take awhile for it to form a memory and to stop spilling off your reel at every chance. To get the new line to conform to your reel, run a newly spooled reel under hot tap water for a minute or so. The heat will cause the line to form a memory of the reel, preventing tangles and twist later on.

Switch to Braid on Spinning Reels

Many spinning reel users have been making the switch from straight monofilament/fluorocarbon to braid for their main line with a mono/fluoro leader. This is because the braided line will last many months longer and has zero stretch, making it extremely sensitive. For spinning reels around the 2500 size I’d recommend 20-30lb braid because the diameter is similar to that of 6-8lb monofilament. My connection knot of choice is a Reverse Albright Knot since it goes through the guides perfectly without damaging the inserts. Some anglers also use bright green, white, yellow or pink braid so they can visibly detect bites even better. Make the switch to braid and you’ll not only save money but be able to see and feel bites like never before.

Easily Cut Braided Line

Scissors and knives aren’t the only tools that can cut braid. A lighter is actually just as effective if not more effective than cutters. The bonus of using a lighter to cut braid is that it leaves a small knob on the tip of your tag end, helping to prevent the knot from slipping. Next time you decide to fish with braid bring a lighter out with you.

Keep Your Hooks Organized

No one likes to break off and retie, and it’s worse when you have to dig around to find a new hook. Stick a large safety pin through the eye of like-sized hooks and you will always have your hooks sorted and neatly organized. Another great tip to keep smaller hooks organized is to put a magnet in with the hooks to prevent them from falling in other compartments in your tackle box.

Loosen Your Drag After Fishing

When storing your spinning reels for the offseason, be sure to release your drag. Continued pressure on the inner workings of the reel from a tight-set drag can cause the springs to loosen over time, making your reel not work as efficiently the next time you have a big fish on.

Protect Your Rod Handles

The handle is usually the first part of a rod to become noticeably dirty. You can use armor all to keep the cork soft and clean looking. If you want to keep your cork handle pristine (or if you don’t like the feel of cork) then invest in shrink wrap. Not only does the shrink wrap look great but it also gives you increased grip on your rod. I use shrink wrap on all my saltwater gear and it’s worked great protecting my rods.

Hold-Tight Dividers

Movable dividers in tackle boxes sometimes slide up, allowing small tackle items to get combined. Put some silicone on the bottom of each divider to hold it in place. You still can easily remove the divider to redesign or clean the tackle box.

Restoring Old Lures

If the paint is chipping off your spinnerbaits or crankbaits you can touch them up with acrylic paint to make them look new again. I have changed the colors on some of my favorite lures to match the fishing conditions needed. Another tip I often use is to paint your hooks red to imitate a bleeding baitfish.

Check your Line Guides

A rough line guide can fray line and cost you a fish of a lifetime. When I’m maintaining my fishing equipment I like to run a Q-tip over both sides of the guides to see if there are any nicks. This will catch one no matter how minor that your eyes may have missed. If they are rough you can take some sandpaper and roll it up tight, with the rough part on the outside. Then put it in the line guide and let the roll expand. Then gently twist it, and it will smooth out the line guide.

Line Saver When Traveling

You know that rod you broke off and just left it be and picked up another rod to continue fishing. Well, when you transport that untied rod the line generally ends up tangled all over the place. A simple solution to this problem is to squeeze a split shot on your line’s end after removing a baitcasting reel from a rod for storage or travel. This prevents the line from slipping through the guide and prevents tangles.

If you have any interesting fishing hacks that you’d like to share please list them in the comments below!

(Founder) Michael is an avid hunter that enjoys sharing his experience to help others learn about hunting. He lives and breathes hunting and the outdoor lifestyle and wants to educate and entertain hunting enthusiasts all over the world!